Middlesbrough's mercurial midfield maestro Alan Moore has admitted that his baffled by teammate Craig Hignett's decision to snub a new contract with the club.

Hignett refused to sign an extension to his current contract but there was no such hesitation from the Irish winger who was dubbed 'The new Ryan Giggs' after his explosive debut season many years ago. Moore explained "It's been a difficult few years for me what with injuries and the likes so I was naturally delighted when my agent phoned to tell me he;s got me a New Deal package".

Under his New Deal, Moore will be able to develop a range of transferable core skills which are extremely valuable in the modern workplace. A keen Moore beamed "If I do really well I might even get an N.V.Q level 3, God willing".

Sports Minister Tony Banks (formerly of Genesis) said yesterday "It's great to see lads like Alan sign up to the New Deal and this underlines New Labour's dedication to be tough on crap wing play and tough on the causes of crap wing play."

Fellow Irish child prodigy Keith Gillespie, who has been sidelined for much of this season with acne, is also set to sign a New Deal. Speaking from St James' yesterday his agent revealed "Keith really fancies photography for beginners though I've a feeling it might be a bit technical for the lad".